The Gold Cup (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
SA- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Quarter on the Dirt
May 26, 2025

The latest purse reduction for The Gold Cup did not keep the top two finishers from the BC Classic from making the trip to SA to compete in this ten-furlong stake. Six months ago, Spankersville got the better of Wahpekute Sioux, and so far in 2025, we have not seen Wahpekute Sioux at the stake level. After running twice in open allowances, and only finishing sixth at TUP in February, Wahpekute Sioux picked up where he left off at this level and got some revenge on Spankersville in the process as he scores the win in The Gold Cup. The name of the race probably could change to the Mb Stables Gold Cup, as the trainer has now won the race for the seventh time. Jockey P Lopez is a first-time winner. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:59.95, the fastest of any of the editions run here at SA. Let’s take a look at it:

(½ Mile- :47.31)- Wahpekute Sioux wastes no time, as the eventual winner from Mb Stables is out on the lead right from the gate, and the only one keeping him company on the front end is his stablemate, Individuation. It’s a break of about a length and a half to the third place, SamIam trained Strong Style, with Officer Chaimura next while riding the rail for Asgar. In the middle of the pack, we have a trio of horses running alongside on another, and The Sidley Stud’s Spankersville is one of them, running four lengths behind Wahpekute Sioux. Galapagos (Night Rider Stables) is the outside horse of this group, with General Zod (Royalty Stables) between horses. You have to go back three to four lengths more to the rest of the field, where Fried Chicken (Angelos Stable), Dr Pepper (Keikowin Racing), Hiei (Pan Farms) are running.

(3/4 Mile- 1:11.24)- Out front, Wahpekute Sioux looks comfortable as he cruises down the backstretch and wins the battle with Individuation. That one drops a length and a half behind him now, and the rest of the field is not looking to cut into the leader’s advantage at this time. Third place Strong Style is three lengths from the lead, and himself a length ahead of Spankersville. That one is preparing to pass Strong Style on the outside, and is now clear of Galapagos and General Zod, who had been running with him before. Officer Chaimura lost ground in the backstretch and was clearly struggling. Fried Chicken pushed ahead of Dr Pepper and Hiei but still had a lot of ground to make up.

(Top of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- Around the turn, Wahpekute Sioux would only extend his lead further. Individuation was not looking like the old version of himself that probably could keep up and was losing ground. Spankersville was making his move now, surging into the second position just in time to begin the stretch run. However, there was still a lot of work for him to do, as he needed to find a way to make up about three lengths on the race leader. Strong Style was coming up empty and was about to be passed for fourth by General Zod. Fried Chicken was working his way past a few rivals, though it would take a mammoth effort for that one to do any better than third.

(Finish- 1:59.95)- As the stretch run began, all eyes were on the front two since they had put away the rest of the field. Wahpekute Sioux was hoping that the big lead that he had on Spankersville would be enough to see him through to the wire, but Spankersville, being the champion he is, was showing tremendous heart to try and catch him. Getting closer, it looked like Wahpekute Sioux had enough of a cushion, and despite the best effort of Spankersville, he would go on to win by a little less than a length. Fried Chicken is the best of the rest, getting third, but never even concerned the top two for a second. Fourth place earnings go to General Zod, who tops Hiei, Individuation, Dr Pepper, Strong Style, Galapagos, and Officer Chaimura.

About The Winner- Wahpekute Sioux, trained by Mb Stables and ridden by P Lopez, is a five-year-old horse by Sioux and is out of the late Her Sneaky Command. He was bred as a second quarter two-year-old by Kopites in California and was acquired by Mb Stables for $100.000 from El Primero Rodeo in an October 2022 private sale. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his eleventh in 29 starts, his ninth stake win and eighth graded win. His career earnings are now $4.637.760.

Track: Fast
Time: :47¹  1:11¹  1:35²  1:59⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 4 – 2 Paid 15.40
$1 Trifecta: 4 – 2 – 1 Paid 82.10

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES